Lyft Partners with Drive.ai

We believe in a future where car ownership is optional and cities are rebuilt around people — not cars.

As we work toward this not-so-distant future, Lyft will continue to partner with key players within the industry to build the world’s best transportation ecosystem, as well as safely introduce self-driving cars to our streets. That’s why today, we’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Drive.ai to bring self-driving cars to the Bay Area on Lyft’s open platform.

Founded by former labmates out of Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Lab, Drive.ai is building the brain of the self-driving car. Through a deep learning-first approach, Drive.ai creates artificial intelligence software for self-driving cars. This provides a fast, scalable, and cost-efficient approach to the development of this technology. In order to bring its technology to market, Drive.ai is developing retrofit kits that transform traditional vehicles into self-driving models.

Drive.ai is one of the first startups in California to receive a self-driving vehicle permit. The company also recently raised $50 million in its Series B funding round.

“Drive.ai and Lyft are both working toward a future where self-driving vehicles radically improve the lives of millions,” said Sameep Tandon, CEO of Drive.ai. “By launching this pilot, we’re taking a giant step to advance that reality. As we deploy Drive.ai’s safe, intelligent autonomous vehicles on the city streets, we can begin to build public understanding and trust. Self-driving cars have so much to offer, from safety to convenience, and we can’t wait for consumers to experience this for themselves.”

Lyft and Drive.ai are looking forward to deploying our first pilots, which will roll out in stages in the Bay Area soon. All rides will have a Drive.ai trained safety driver in the vehicle, and any public pilot we deploy will be done in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements set by the DMV and the California PUC.